The ailing car manufacturer Volkswagen is lowering its earnings forecast for the second time in just a few months. The company primed investors Friday for declining sales and lower returns. Volkswagen referred to a challenging market environment. In addition, business at the core Volkswagen brand, at the commercial vehicle division and at the in-house production of car components went worse than originally expected.
Sales are now expected to remain just below the previous year’s level at 320 billion euros, VW also announced. The company had previously assumed an increase of up to five percent. The group expects an operating result of around 18 billion euros. That would be around four billion euros less than in 2023.
The return will be lower at 5.6 percent than was recently predicted at 6.5 to 7.0 percent. At nine million cars, slightly fewer cars are likely to be sold than in 2023; VW had recently expected an increase of up to three percent. In the financial division, the separation from the Russian business is likely to have a negative impact. The financial services sector is expected to achieve an operating result of 3.2 billion euros. That is 800 million euros less than previously expected.
The company also pointed to a deterioration in the macroeconomic environment and warned that this could result in further risks, particularly for the Core brand group. In addition to VW and VW commercial vehicles, the brand group also includes the brands Škoda and Seat.
Porsche SE cuts by one billion
Immediately after Volkswagen AG also lowered the Porsche SE the profit forecast. The holding company of the Porsche and Piëch families holds 31.9 percent of Volkswagen’s capital. She announced that the group result after taxes would now probably be between 2.4 and 4.4 billion euros. So far the expectation was around a billion euros higher.
Volkswagen only tightened its austerity measures at the beginning of September, citing, among other things, the persistent slump in the European car market. CFO Arno Antlitz (54) spoke of two million fewer cars being sold annually in Europe than before the corona pandemic. For Volkswagen, as the market leader with a market share of around a quarter, this means that there is a shortage of 500,000 vehicles every year.
Savings are to be made primarily in the brands VW and VW Commercial Vehicles, which are also now mentioned in the profit warning, as well as the components division. The areas are expected to improve their results by an additional 5 billion euros by 2026 in order to achieve their goals. The board of directors around group CEO Oliver Blume (56) and VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer (54) recently terminated the employment guarantee and collective agreements that have been in effect for 30 years. Even the closure of plants in Germany is no longer ruled out.
Collective bargaining for VW’s 130,000 German employees began this week. IG Metall and the works council are demanding a seven percent increase in salaries. There is also talk in the corporate environment that works council boss Daniela Cavallo (49) is willing to compromise on salaries – if there are no plant closures.